There was a certain weekend that Donnie and Leslie (and their kids) were going to be in Rexburg to see my family. This weekend presented the ideal opportunity to plan our rafting/climbing/camping trip since we wouldn’t have to worry about getting enough people to go. So I made a phone call to my mom and invited ourselves up. I explained all of our plans to her. The only part that I forgot to mention? That Rachel was a girl.
Okay, let’s take a step back for a moment. According to my family, I didn’t talk to girls. Ever since high school I had been very private about my relationships. I couldn’t really tell you why, other than to say that it was easier that way. I didn’t have to answer any probing questions. I didn’t have to explain myself. I didn’t have to endure the teasing and awkward conversations that I was sure would come if I had let them in on this part of my life. Also, the fact that a simple date in our family was treated as a major life event made me feel like it was not a normal thing. But it was normal and I knew this, so I just maintained appearances that I was this shy little boy who wasn’t even interested in the opposite sex. In retrospect I feel guilty about this, but that is just how it was.
On a side note, I think this is interesting since Rachel has often referred to me as a “player.” I think this was also inaccurate though. I enjoyed going on dates because they were fun. I just wasn’t always interested in a long-term commitment.
I joke about Logan being a player because before he dated me he had already dated two other girls in our dance class! As third choice I ended up being his lucky wife, so I guess it isn’t all bad. But still!
Anyway, the point is that I didn’t really know how to say “Hey mom, I’ve met this girl and we sort of like each other and we are planning a camping trip together and we want to use your house as a jumping-off point.” In my mind this news would have been received with the same grace as if I had just announced that I was going to move to Greece to join a monastery. It just wasn’t part of who I was (to them). And so, like always, I conveniently forgot to mention the fact that my “friend” was a girl.
The major problem, of course, is that we were planning on interacting quite a bit with my family, and I also conveniently forgot to think about the fact that it would be very difficult to conceal Rachel’s girlyness once we were in Rexburg. This set the stage for some very awkward moments.
I didn’t know any of this. Looking back, I am glad I didn’t know this background. I would have felt a lot more awkward and out of place meeting his family.
So we arrived in Rexburg on the appointed day and we all piled out of the car and walked into the house. I can only imagine the conversations that were taking place inside at this time as they watched us unload:
“Logan has a girl with him! Wait, no, he has three girls with him! And where is this friend he was talking about? There is no friend- just these three girls!”
“Wait a minute….I think he’s holding her hand. What happened to Logan? Who is this imposter?”
“Oh my gosh, they’re coming in the house. Quick, everybody act normal, ACT NORMAL!!!”
We actually picked up Haley in Utah and she drove with us into Rexburg. She was quiet and didn’t say much. Last year she confessed to me that she was totally freaked out that Logan was bringing a girl home, and the moment we arrived in Rexburg she jumped out of the car and ran inside to announce to the world that Logan was here and that he brought a GIRL! Now that we are good friends she told me that she took a while to warm up to me because I freaked her out so much.
Also, I think the whole ‘act normal’ thing before we entered was an actual quote.
I have to give it to them- they did a pretty good job of acting normal despite the awkward glances that were often cast in our direction. My dad even managed to call Shannon “sweet thing” without thinking. I know that sounds weird but this is actually very normal of him. Of course I knew that they were probably all freaking out behind our backs, and later conversations have confirmed these suspicions, but everybody did a pretty good job of pretending and going about their usual routine.
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